Hat trim

ABSTRACT

Decorative yarn is stitched with an elastic pillar in a strip having purls or loops projecting essentially from one side of the pillar only. The strip has a uniform helical twist such that the purls or loops appear to project radially from the longitudinal axis of the strip.

United States Patent Everitt Aug. 29, 1972 HAT TRIM 375,106 12/1887Stone ..2/244 X 72 Inventor: Allen D. Eyed, 729 E Beneview 2,053,9599/1936 Karle ..2/244 X Plane Milwaukee 532 2,324,989 7/1943 Alderfer..57/152 3,011,302 12/1961 Ruppreeht ..57/152 [22] Filed: Dec. 8, 1969[21] Appl. No.: 883,089 v Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin AssistantExaminer-George H. Krizmanich Related Appllmtlon Dita Attomey-John W.Michael, Gerrit D. Foster, Bayard H. Michael Paul R. Puerner Jose h A.Gemi ani 62 D f N 90, r r P g r 1 11 5: 5 83 787 6 Dec 30 1968 Andrew 0.Riteris and Spencer H. Michael 52 us. Cl ..57/152, 2/186 7] ABSTRACT[51] Int. Cl. 3/36 Decorative yam is stitched with an elastic pillar ina 0f -...2/l86, purls or projegting from 2/12, one side of the pillaronly. The strip has a uniform helical twist such that the purls or loopsappear to pro- Refel'mces Cited ject radially from the longitudinal axisof the strip.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 363,929 5118 87Whitrnore.,. 2[244 HATTRIM This is a division of application Ser. No.787,690, filed Dec. 30, 1968, titled Hat Trim Machine, and now US. Pat.No. 3,520,261.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates to a decorative articlewhich may be used for a variety of purposes such as trimming for variousfabrics, rnillinery, or other decorations, and to the manufacture ofsuch articles.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is an object of this invention to provide adecorative trim strip, and, furthermore, to provide simple and effectivemanufacture of such a strip.

For the achievement of these and other objects, this invention proposesmachine stitching a series of purls or loops into a generally resilientelongated strip and imparting a uniform twist to the strip as it leavesthe stitching mechanism. More specifically, a decorative yarn isstitched with an elastic pillar such that the yarn projects essentiallyfrom one side only of the stitched body including the pillar in the formof purls or loops and is then passed into means for imparting a uniformhelical twist to the stitched strip. Preferably, the elastic pillar isin a state of tension as it is stitched with the yarn and will, uponrelease from stitching mechanism, tend to gather the stitched body ofthe strip from which the loops project.

The twist imparting means may take the form of a tube having oppositeopen ends and rotatably mounted at an inclined angle adjacent thestitching mechanism. This tube includes an inner friction surface whichengages the strip as it is fed into the tube. Friction between thefriction surface and strip, caused by the weight of the strip and therotation of the tube, imparts a uniform helical twist to the strip.

It is further contemplated that a receiver having at least one open endcan be rotatably mounted beneath the lower end of the tube that as thestrip exits the lower end of the tube it passes into the rotatingreceiver. The receiver engages the strip and rotates at a speedapproximately equal to that of the tube. The receiver stores the trimstrip in a continuous length and, by virtue of its rotation, does sowhile preventing the disorientation of the uniform helical twistimparted to the strip by the tube.

In the finished strip the purls or loops, although projectingessentially from one side only of the elastic pillar, have theappearance of projecting radially on all sides of an elongated centralpillar or, more generally, from the longitudinal axis of the strip. Thestrip is expandable longitudinally and is resilient so that it willreturn to a compact helical configuration when any such force isreleased.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in, or be apparentfrom, the description and claims, as will obvious modifications of thesingle embodiment shown in the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing theapparatus proposed by this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the trim strip proposed by thisinvention showing the article in its final helical state and also with aportion thereof developed to better illustrate the structural makeup ofthe strip; and

FIG. 3 is a further illustration of the trim strip showing the stitchedbody with the interwoven elastic pillar and the loops DESCRIPTION OF THEPREFERRED EMBODIMENT The article resulting from the practice of thisinvention will have general application as a decorative trim, but willprobably find particular application as a decoration for hats such asknit childrens hats.

Trim strip 10 proposed by this invention is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 insomewhat schematic form is com prised of an elastic pillar 20 and adecorative yarn 22. It will be appreciated that yarn of any variety orcolor can be used in connection with various types of elastic pillars.As will be described more completely hereinafter, yarn 22 is machinestitched with the elastic pillar 20 by means of a machine 32 which usesa shell or crochet stitch. The stitch is such that a series of purls orloops 24 project from one side of a stitch body 25 which contains pillar20. This structure is illustrated by portion 26 which has been developedas a straight section for illustrative purposes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, trim machine 30 proposed by this inventioncomprises a combination of a crocheting machine 32 and a twist impartingmechanism 34.

The crocheting machine 32 is not shown in detail as the details of themachine are not necessary to an understanding of this invention. It issufficient to an understanding of the invention to appreciate that twothreads such as decorative yarn 22 and elastic pillar 20 are fed tocrocheting assembly 33 where they are machine stitched together. Thecrochet stitch is such that the decorative yam 22 projects in a seriesof loops 24 essentially from side of body 25 as shown in FIG. 2generally at 26. Furthermore, the crocheting machine 32 is effective tostitch pillar 20 into body 25 under tension, or in a stretchedcondition, so that when the stitched strip is released from thecrocheting head the pillar contracts toward its natural condition andgathers body 25. Loops 24 and body 25 are shown to be a uniform straightstrip in FIG. 2 at 26 for purposes of illustration; however, in reality,if the stitched strip is left to pass freely and undirected from thecrocheting head the strip will evolve from the machine in a random,disorganized, twisted shape. This invention is concerned with theproblem of preventing this random twist and imparting a desired uniformconfiguration to the strip to render it more suitable as a trim strip.

After the article is processed in the manner proposed by this invention,which will currently be explained, the trim strip 10 of this inventionwill appear as shown generally at 28 in FIG. 2, that is, as anelongated, expandable, resilient article having permanent uniformhelical twist such that loops 24 appear to project radially from thelongitudinal axis of the strip as shown in FIG. 2.

The machine and method of the proposed invention impart a uniformhelical twist to the strip. The elastic pillar 20 in contracting acts tofix the helical twist and thereby results in a strip having the uniformhelical configuration.

Structurally, the twist imparting mechanism generally shown at 34comprises a cylindrical tube 36 having two open ends 38 and 40.Preferably, the inner diameter 42 of the tube is large with respect tothe diameter of the trim strip. The tube 36 is mounted on a support base44 and is supported by rollers 46 and 48 which are disposed on supportbase 44. In addition to the two rollers 46 on the exposed side of thetube in FIG. 1, two similarly arranged rollers are provided on theopposite side of the tube, one of which is partially visible in thedrawing. Rollers 46 and 48 engage diametrically opposite sides ofcylinder 36 so that the cylinder is held between the rollers. Rollers 46are directly connected to base 44 and roller 48 is connected to asupport arm 50 attached to support base 44 and extends to the upper sideof the cylinder. The tube 36 is rotated by means of a first motor 52operatively engaged with a pulley 54. Drive belt 56 extends from 54 anddirectly encircles cylinder 36 on its outer surface 60. Preferably belt56 is disposed in the area of roller 48 which assists in preventing belt56 from wandering along the outer surface 60 of tube 36 thus preventingany possibility of binding in the system. Also, a circumferential flangeS8 is disposed above the lower rollers 46 and is engaged by the rollersto ensure vertical orientation of the tube. Motor 52 is preferablyassociated with an infinitely variable speed control (not shown) so thatthe rotational speed of the motor can be precisely varied therebyallowing control of the rotational speed of the tube 36.

The interior of tube 36 is provided with a frictional surface which, asillustrated, comprises friction strips 62 spaced circumferentially alongthe inner surface 64 of the tube. Friction strips 62 may be anyconvenient friction material such as felt, the choice determined atleast in part by yarn 22. The arrangement of alternate friction stripsand open spaces is preferred as it results in periodic engagement of thetrim strip by the friction strip with some impact.

Preferably tube 36 is disposed at an inclined angle with respect tocrocheting machine 32 such that as the trim is fed into the upper end 38of tube 36, the weight of trim strip will keep the trim in engagementwith the lower portion of inner surface 64 of tube 36 and cause the trimto travel freely through the tube and out of the lower end 40 of thetube.

The weight of the trim strip thus maintains engagement between the stripand tube and due to the frictional engagement between strips 62 and trimstrip 10, rotation of tube 36 imparts a uniform helical twist to trimstrip 10. More specifically, a helical twist is imparted to the stitchedbody 25 as it leaves the crocheting assembly 33, the body then carryingthe loops in series of uniform convolutions. Thus as the yarn and pillarare stitched together, instead of there being disorganized randomtwisting of the strip, feeding the trim strip 10 into the rotating tube36 controls the configuration of the strip 10 into the rotating tube 36controls the configuration of the stop and a uniform helical twistresults. The effect of the helical twist, is to give the trim strip 10the characteristic or appearance that loops 24 appear to projectradially from all sides of the longitudinal axis of the strip as shownin FIG. 2 at 28. Also, the tightness or frequency of the helical twistcan be varied by controlling the speed of motor 52. The resulting stripcan be cut into desired lengths and attached, for example, to a childshat as one or more tassels or braids. The strip 10 has been shownsomewhat schematically in FIG. 1 for convenience, the actual structurebeing more clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The trim strip 10 may be cut, either manually or by machine, intodesired lengths as it exits the tube 36 to prevent the trim strip fromunwinding itself into a random, disoriented configuration. Preferably,tube 36 has a substantial axial length of the trim strip and ensurespositive rotation of the trim strip, for example tube 36 should be of alength equal to or greater than the desired length of the particularstrip.

As an alternative to cutting the strip at the exit end of the tube, asecond cylindrical tube 66 is disposed vertically beneath the lower orexit end 40 of tube 36. Tube 66 has an open end 68 and a closed end 70such that trim strip 10, as it exits tube 36, can be fed directly intotube 66. Tube 66 is likewise rotatably mounted and is structurallysimilar to tube 36. Tube 66 is supported on platform 71, which closesend 70 and is capable of rotation about its axis by a motor 72 andcarries platform 71 with it.

Cylinder 66 also includes friction strips 76, which are spacedcircumferentially along the inner surface of tube 66, and theinteraction between friction strips 76 and trim strip 10 is similar tothat described with relation to tube 36. Preferably, motor 72 also hasinfinitely variable speed control which allows control over therotational speed of tube 66 and it is preferred that tube 66 rotate atapproximately the same speed as tube 36. In this fashion, tube 66 acts astorage receiver for trim strip 10 as it is fed through tube 36 andpermits manufacture of trim strip 10 in a continuous length with therotation of tube 66 preventing loss of the helical twist imparted tostrip 10 by cylindrical tube 36. The trim strip can later be cut indesired lengths.

The effect of the proposed invention is to provide a new article ofmanufacture by subjecting two elements to machine stitching and thencontrolling the manner in which the stitched article leaves thestitching mechanism. The article can be inexpensively mass produced andhas an appealing appearance. In addition, due to its expandable,resilient features it can be stretched to separate adjacent convolutionsand the adjacent convolutions will snap back to a compact form uponrelease.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in connection with aparticular embodiment thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that various changes and modifications may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising:

an elastic pillar;

an elongated strip of decorative yarn having a stitched body extendingthe length of said strip and also having a plurality of seriallyarranged loops projecting from said body,

said elastic pillar interwoven in said body along the length of saidbody and said strip having a helical twist to form a helix generatedalong the longitudinal axis of said strip with said body disposedgenerally centrally of said helix and said serially arand said stripbeing expandable longitudinally to separate said adjacent convolutionsexposing said helical form and being resiliently urged toward saidnormal position by said pillar to return to said normal position whenthe expanding force is released. 2. The article of claim 1 wherein saidelastic pillar tends to hold said stitched body in a gathered condition.

1. An article of manufacture comprising: an elastic pillar; an elongatedstrip of decorative yarn having a stitched body extending the length ofsaid strip and also having a plurality of serially arranged loopsprojecting from said body, said elastic pillar interwoven in said bodyalong the length of said body and said strip having a helical twist toform a helix generated along the longitudinal axis of said strip withsaid body disposed generally centrally of said helix and said seriallyarranged loops disposed in convolutions about the axis of said helix,said strip being flexible and having a normal relaxed position whereinadjacent convolutions of said helix are compactly arranged with saidloops projecting radially from all sides of the longitudinal axis ofstrip and said strip having a generally cylindrical appearance, and saidstrip being expandable longitudinally to separate said adjacentconvolutions exposing said helical form and being resiliently urgedtoward said normal position by said pillar to return to said normalposition when the expanding force is released.
 2. The article of claim 1wherein said elastic pillar tends to hold said stitched body in agathered condition.